Feed mechanism for button-hole sewing-machine attachments



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H; GILBERT. FEED MESHANISM FOB. BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENTS. No. 339,985. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. GILBERT. FEED MECHANISM FOR BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE ATTAGHMENTS.

No. 339,985. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

N. FEYERS. Fholoiullmgmphcr. Washmgion. D4 C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

W. H. GILBERT. EEEE MECHANISM FOR BUTTON HOLE SEWING MAGHINE ATTACHMENTS.

No. 339,985. PatentmiApr. 13, 1886.

I V 01- I II 3 5i IIE k Q I l awn WITNESSES flttorney s WTFZW I I N. ruins Phuloltlhngnphlr wuhmgmn. D (1 (No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 4. W. H. GILBERT.-

FEED MECHANISM FOR BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE ATTAGHMENTS. No. 339,985. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

ATTORNEYS.

N PETERS fllmw-uuw n lm, Washinglan. n. C.

. offriction-clutch.

Nrrnn TATES' FFICE.

ATENT FEED MECHANISM FOR BUTTON-HOLE SEWING-MACHINE ATTACHMENTS.

:SPECEFICATEQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,985, dated April 13, 1886.

Application filed May 15,1884. Renewed September 18, 1885. Serial No.177,462.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the,county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed Mechanism for Button-Hole SeWingMachine Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, in which Figure l is a plan of base-plate with friction-clutch and heart-cam, other parts being omitted. Fig. 2 is a plan of slide-carrier and levers. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of parts shown in plan in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan of base-plate, lever, pawl, ratchet, tappet, and brake. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of friction clutch and brake. Fig. 6 is a plan of attachment, partly broken away. Fig. 7 is a perspective of brake, and Fig. 8 avertical section Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a sewingmachine having my improved attachment. Fig. 10 isaperspective of the stopcam.

This invention has relation to certain improvements in that class of button-hole sewing-machine attachments to which pertain the mechanism embraced in my application for Letters Patent filed January 23,1884, Serial No. 118,448.

My invention consists in certain details of construction and in special combinations, as hereinafter described, and specifically set forth in the claims, having reference particularly to the combination, with the base-plate and clutch-casing, of the friction-brake secured to the former and impinging frictionally against the latter, and to the construction of the tappet-levers in the form of spring-bars, having their free ends bent inwardly so as to pass beneath the carrier, substantially as hereinafter set forth.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the essential elements of a button-hole-stitching attachment, and the same having been fully described in the application referred to it will not be necessary to repeat the general description thereof.

The friction-brake is shown at A, and'consists of a standard of steel or other spring metal secured to the base-plate B, and formed with a curved shoe, b, concentric with the (No model.)

actuating mechanism, and thus destroying the uniformity and regularity of the feed.

In my said previous application the frictionclutch comprises a split ring, which is caused to expand against the inner wall of a surrounding casing. Heretofore this ring has had a tendency to drop out of the casing and retard the zigzag movement of the slide. To prevent this I now construct the ring 0 with an annular groove, 0, and provide the casing O with two screws, 0, which pass through its wall or depending flange c and enter said groove.

In the attachment constituting the subject of the application referred to the tappetwheel is shown as consisting of athree-toothed or triangular cam,with the studs or teeth separate] y riveted upon its upper surface; but for the purposes of simplicity and economy of construction I now produce the tappet-whecl (shown at D) from a single piece or disk by cutting or otherwise forming the teeth d on its periphery, as shown, and so omit the separately-attached studs, which were more or less difficult and expensive to form and app in my said previous application the tappet is shown and described as having three teeth or points, which come successively in contact with the ends of the levers, and so produce a zigzag movement of the slide-carrier. Said tappet is carried on a ratchet, so that both travel together, movement being imparted by a pawl engaging with the ratchet. This pawl is connected with and obtains its movement from the needle-bar of the machine.

The ratchet in my said previous application is shown as having but six teeth and the tappet only three, and the arrangement and relation of parts were such that the pawl took hold of and began to pull the ratchet the moment the needle-bar began its upward movement. As the ratchet, as already mentioned, carries the tappet, it followed that the carrier was oscillated partly, or the oscillating movement was begun before the needle had arisen from the fabric.

I now make the ratchet D with ten teeth and the tappet with five, and allow the pawl the same extent of movement as heretofore;

- but whereas heretofore the pawl engaged with the ratchet upon the instant of completing its forward movement, the pawl now has lost motiontliat is, on going forward its toe passes some distance be 0nd the tooth with which it next engages, and when it reverses it travels backwardly some distance before engaging with the ratchet-tooth. During this interval of 10 t motion the needle-bar rises sufficiently for the needle to clear the fabric, after which the zigzag movement of the carrier is begun. In my said previous applicatiouthe levers upon which said tappet acts to produce the zigzag motion of the slide-carrier are pivoted to the under side of the fced-slide carrier and coupled together by a spiral spring which controls the yielding movement of each alternately and retracts it to its normal position. I have found that this spring can be dispensed with,and now construct said levers of springstecl, in which the required elasticity is inherent in the metal.

F F designate said levers rigidly secured by screws f to the sides of the feed-slide carrier G, and at their forward ends bent inward and under said carrier toward the tappet-wheel. As the tappet-teeth in succession strike the ends of the levers alternately, the carrier is oscillated or moved from side to side, resulting in the production of the zigzag movement of said carrier. When the end of one of the levers is in impinging contact with a tappettooth and is pressed out by the latter, a tension is produced in said levers, (owing to its elasticit=y,) which causes it to bear against the tooth and to hold the carrier in its position while a stitch is being formed and until another tooth comes in contact with the lever on the opposite side and communicates a reverse movement to the carrier.

H designates the pawl through which motion is imparted to the ratchet 'D. Heretofore I have employed a spring attached to the lever H, upon which the pawl is mounted, for the purpose of throwing the. point of the pawl into engagement with the ratchet during the forward movement of said pawl, such spring being arranged to bear against the short arm of the pawl, as shown in my application before mentioned. I now discard said spring, and in lieu thereof substitute a post or stud, i, fixed in the base-plate B, and rising so as'to intercept the short arm of the pawl while the lever H is moving forwardly, thus causingthe point or tooth of the pawl to engage itself with the teeth of the ratchet. The lever H is cut out or recessed at h, to allow space for said stud or post and permit the former freedom of movement.

With reference to the heart-cam, I have modified the means whereby it is adjusted, and the modification or change consists in discarding the slotted portion of the dovetailed slide and securing the heart-cam K in place by means of a screw, k, passing through its center and coming in contact with the surface of the dovetailed groove It. By forcing the screw downward upon the surface of the groove the dovetailed slide L, upon which the heart-camrests, is pressed upward at its edges against those of the groove, and thus securely retained.

In my aforesaid application the slide-carrier (shown at G in the accompanying drawings) is provided with a fixed shoe or projection on the inner side of one of its side bars and an adj listing-screw carrying a shoe on the opposite side. This gave an adjustment on only one side of the slidecarrier. As an improvement thereon, I now provide two adjustlug-screws, g g, on opposite sides of the slide, and dispense wit-h the shoe. By means of the two screws I obtain a double adjustment, or adjustment on both sides, securing an equal throw in both directions of the carrier in effecting the zigzag movement and dispensing with the adjustment of the other parts heretofore required.

The slotted yoke through'which longitudinal movement of the feed-slide is effected is shown-at M, Fig. 9, N being the feed-slide.

The stop-cam shown in Fig. 10, or an equivlent device, is used in the usual manner to cause the machine to first stitch one side and then the other.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. In a button-hole-stitcliing mechanism, the combination, with the friction-clutch casing 0 and devices for actuating the same, of a spring-brake or friction-shoe, the same comprising a standard secured to the base-plate and having a curved shoe which impinges frictionally against the rim of the clutch casing to prevent forward or backward abnormal movement thereof, substantially as described. f

2. In a bnt-ton-hole-st-itching mechanism, the combination, with the. feed-slide carrier and'the tappet through which said slide is oscillated, of the lovers F F, consisting of spring or elastic bars rigidly secured to said,

carrier and bent inwardly and beneath the carrier, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the yoke and feed-slide, the heart-cam and its dovetailed supporting-slide, and the correspondinglygrooved friction-clutch casing, of the screwk, passing through the center of said cam and contacting with the surface of the groove, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, for opcrating the clutch-casing, as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of May, 1884.

WILLIAM H- GILBERT. Witnesses:

J AMES, S. PHIL Irs, J os. B. TINDALL. 

